A German man said he found a nearly $4.8 million dollar check made out to gummy-bear maker Haribo, only to get some candy for letting them know.
German news outlet BILD reported last week that a man identified as Anouar G. was returning from visiting his mother when he found a piece of paper on the ground at a Frankfurt rail station. Upon reading it, Anouar discovered that it wasn’t any old piece of litter, but a crossed check for Haribo.
“There was such a large sum on it that I couldn’t even pronounce it,” the man told Bild.
The check was from Rewe, a German supermarket chain, to Haribo for 4,631,538.50 euros, or roughly $4,791,000.
Anouar contacted Haribo about his discovery. A lawyer asked him if he could destroy the check and send photographic proof, which he reportedly did. A few days later, he received a box containing six packs of Haribo treats.
Despite the sweet offering, Anouar did not seem too impressed, remarking that he potentially saved the company from losing millions.
“I found that a bit cheap,” he told BILD, per a translation.
Haribo confirmed the interaction to the newspaper, but noted that Anouar found a crossed check, meaning only Haribo could have cashed it, making it worthless to anyone else.
Readers on social media were split, with some arguing that Anouar got a pretty good prize, and others thinking Haribo should have given him more for his trouble.
“It’s not a bag of cash. You can’t cash or deposit a check unless you are the payee, so unless you are Haribo, the check is worthless to you,” one Twitter user wrote.
“They rewarded him with candy … played him,” another tweeted.
At least one joked that he wouldn’t have been as honest as Anoaur, claiming he would have just walked into the bank and declared, “I am mr haribo.”
